Amintro Family: The Podcast

Caring for parents with mobility and cognitive challenges inspired Katharine Perry to turn a personal need into a purpose-driven business. In this episode, she joins host Jeff Sammut to share her journey of creating an adaptive clothing line, navigating entrepreneurship while caregiving, and addressing the gaps in awareness and education around adaptive wear. Katharine also reflects on the rewards of helping families facing similar challenges and the lessons she’s learned along the way.Her company, Adaptt Apparel, is featured in the Amintro Family app marketplace, connecting family caregivers with practical solutions and trusted resources. This episode is a must-listen for family caregivers, older adults, and anyone interested in adaptive clothing, caregiving innovation, and meaningful ways to support aging loved ones.The Amintro Family App is a social network and resource hub where family caregivers can connect, share experiences, and find support.Download the Amintro Family App now from Google Play, the App Store, or visit amintrofamily.com to listen first, join the conversation, and explore more caregiver-friendly content.

Carla Velastegui has been a caregiver to her mother since her teenage years. She joins host Jeff Sammut to share her story, discussing the shock of her mother’s early-onset Parkinson’s diagnosis, the need for greater support and recognition for young caregivers, and the economic ripple effects when caregivers are forced to leave the workforce. Carla also offers advice for families with a newly diagnosed loved one, emphasizes the importance of self-care for Parkinson’s caregivers, and explores the many challenges—and lessons—that come with the role.The Amintro Family App is a social network and resource hub where family caregivers can connect, share experiences, and find support.Download the Amintro Family App now from Google Play, the App Store, or visit amintrofamily.com to listen first, join the conversation, and explore more caregiver-friendly content.

Following the recent loss of her father, and her mother just a few years earlier, caregiver Cathy Caldarola joins host Jeff Sammut to share her deeply personal caregiving journey. She reflects on caring for a cognitively impaired parent, doing so from another country, the guilt that often accompanies long-distance caregiving, the profound void left in the aftermath, and how the experience has forever changed her.The Amintro Family App is a social network and resource hub where family caregivers can connect, share experiences, and find support.Download the Amintro Family App now from Google Play, the App Store, or visit amintrofamily.com to listen first, join the conversation, and explore more caregiver-friendly content.

Ron Baecker, author of Reinvention: Meaningful Ventures in Later Life, joins host Jeff Sammut to discuss how caregivers can navigate — or look ahead to — life beyond caregiving. Ron shares insights from people who have successfully reinvented themselves, outlines his five foundations for meaningful reinvention, addresses common misconceptions about the process, explores how the concept of reinvention may evolve in the future, and reflects on his own journey of reinvention.The Amintro Family App is a social network and resource hub where family caregivers can connect, share experiences, and find support.Download the Amintro Family App now from Google Play, the App Store, or visit amintrofamily.com to listen first, join the conversation, and explore more caregiver-friendly content.

Canadian author, acclaimed broadcaster, science journalist, and Member of the Order of Canada Jay Ingram joins host Jeff Sammut to reflect on the history of Alzheimer’s disease. Together, they explore what has changed in the decade since the release of Ingram’s book The End of Memory: A Natural History of Aging and Alzheimer’s, discuss his personal experiences as a caregiver, and delve into the topic of caring for aging pets in light of his latest work, The Science of Pets — and much more. The Amintro Family App is a social network and resource hub where family caregivers can connect, share experiences, and find support.Download the Amintro Family App now from Google Play, the App Store, or visit amintrofamily.com to listen first, join the conversation, and explore more caregiver-friendly content.

In this heartfelt and insightful episode, host Jeff Sammut sits down with Amy Coupal, CEO of the Ontario Caregiver Organization (OCO), to explore the deeply personal experiences that have shaped her life’s work. Amy opens up about her caregiving journey—first as a young caregiver to her brother living with Cerebral Palsy, then supporting her mother through cancer, and now caring for her aging father.Drawing from more than two decades in the not-for-profit sector, Amy reflects on how her personal story continues to inform her professional mission: ensuring caregivers across Ontario feel seen, supported, and valued. Together, she and Jeff discuss the realities of caregiving—its emotional impact, the gaps in awareness and resources, and how organizations like OCO are creating meaningful change for millions of families.Whether you’re a caregiver yourself, know someone who is, or simply want to better understand the invisible network that keeps our communities strong, this conversation offers compassion, wisdom, and hope in equal measure.The Amintro Family App is a social network and resource hub where family caregivers can connect, share experiences, and find support.Download the Amintro Family App now from Google Play, the App Store, or visit amintrofamily.com to listen first, join the conversation, and explore more caregiver-friendly content.